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London 2
also see: London 1

Other United Kingdom Pages:
England Home Page
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Photos of England:
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British History:
Portraits of British Monarchs 1 and 2
List of British Monarchs (outside link)
History of England (outside link)
Battles in England (outside link)

Westminster Abbey, Tower Bridge,
Tower of London, Greenwich Observatory
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, the most famous church in Great Britain, enshrining many of the traditions of the British people. Located in London and officially known as the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter in Westminster, it was built in stages between the 11th and 19th centuries and comprises the main church plus chapels, cloister, chapter house, and towers. Construction was begun by the English king Edward the Confessor in 1050, on the site of an older Romanesque church, and the abbey was rebuilt in its present Gothic style starting in 1245. English monarchs since William the Conqueror in 1066 have been crowned in the abbey, and many from Edward's time until 1760 (George II) are buried in its chapels. The tombs of famous citizens, among them the poet Geoffrey Chaucer, the physicist Isaac Newton, and the naturalist Charles Darwin are located in the main church of the abbey. The abbey also contains monuments to prominent political figures and, in the four bays and aisles comprising the Poets' Corner, tributes to Shakespeare and other outstanding literary personages.

Westminster Abbey
(photo by Woodmansterne, Limited)
 

Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey. The stone beneath the chair is the Stone of Scone which was originally used for coronation of Scottish kings. The English moved it to London after a battle and it was still here when I visited the Abbey in 1987. It has only recently been returned to Scotland.

Monument to astronomer Edmund Halley in Westminster Abbey. The comet that bares his name returned in 1066 AD when Harold II was defeated by William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings. This marked the end of the Anglo-Saxons and the beginning of the Norman reign.

Tower Bridge
This is a movable bridge of the double-leaf bascule (drawbridge) type that spans the Thames River between the Greater London boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Southwark. It is a distinct landmark that aesthetically complements the Tower of London, which it adjoins.
The bridge was completed in 1894 and provides an opening 250 feet (76 metres) wide. Its twin towers rise 200 feet (61 metres) above the Thames. Between the towers stretch a pair of glass-covered walkways that are popular among tourist.

Tower Bridge

The Tower of London
The Tower was established by William the Conqueror and for most of its long haunting history has been a prison and or an armory. It was here that Henry V111 had two of his wives executed. It has many legends including that of the ravens - for if they were to fly away the kingdom would fall. The is protected by the colorful yeoman wardens. It houses the spectacular crown jewels.
 

Tower of London

The Tower of London's "Traitors' Gate"

Greenwich Observatory
Greenwich, England , in the borough of Greater London, lies on the southern bank of the Thames River, near London . The borough was formed in 1965 with the merging of the former metropolitan boroughs of Greenwich and Woolwich. Among the landmarks of Greenwich is the Royal Naval College, the National Maritime Museum and the Greenwich Observatory. The observatory is at as the site of the prime meridian, or 0° longitude. This is the starting point for the earth's longitude markers and is used as the standard for Universal Time in astronomical reports.

The Greenwich Observatory -- "Where time begins".
This marks the zero meridian, dividing the earth into eastern and wetern hemispheres.